Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

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2 Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, March 30, 1955 Personal Mention WILLIAM R. FRANK, producer-exhibitor in the Twin Cities area, has returned to Minneapolis from New York. • Robert Smith, assistant manager at the Stanley Warner Embassy Theatre, New Britain, Conn., has been promoted to a similar post at the Strand, Hartford. Edward McClosker will succeed him in New Britain. • Matthew Robert Rappaport, son of Is ado re M. Rappaport, owner of the Little, Town and Hippodrome theatres in Baltimore, has become engaged to Ellen Marx, of Atlanta. • Martin Davis. Eastern advertising-publicity director of Samuel Goldwyn Prod., is scheduled to return to New York tonight from the Coast. • Gottfried Reinhardt, producer-director, and Mrs. Reinhardt will leave New York today aboard the "Liberte" for Europe. • Goffredo Lombardo, Jr., president of Titanus Film, Rome, and director Alberto Lattuada will leave here for Europe today by plane. • Gene Nelson will arrive in New York aboard the "Queen Mary" today from Europe. • Robert Wise, director, has left Hollywood for a tour of the Mountain states. • Arnold Jacobs, vice-president of Union Films, has left New York for Dallas and Los Angeles. • Joel Levy, out-of-town booker for Loew's Theatres, has returned to New York from Miami. • Joe Pasternak, producer, has arrived in Cuba from New York. • Ann Miller will leave Hollywood by plane on April 17 for Australia. Cohen to Preside at WB Tokyo Meeting Wolfe Cohen, president of Warner Bros. International, will preside over a meeting of the company's Far Eastern managers to be held in Tokyo, the week beginning May 1. John J. Glynn, vice-president of Warner Bros. International, will also attend the meetings. Jack Degal, Warners' general manager in Japan, will be host to the delegation, which will include Berry Greenberg, field supervisor from Sydney, Australia, and Australian managing director Stanley Higginson and sales manager Bruce Kennedy ; managers B. Nadkarni, India ; Geza Polaty, Indonesia ; Elias Moses, Singapore ; Arthur McClure, New Zealand ; Richard Ma, Hong Kong ; Robert Chen, Formosa ; Clifford Almy, the Philippines and Tomas Flores, sales manager in Manila. See 'ANTA' Show As Step Forward Circuit executives, commenting on Monday night's "ANTA Album" theatre telecast, described it as a step forward in providing theatre telecasts of Broadway stage productions. Some theatre executives felt that the ANTA show, telecast to 32 theatres from New York's Adelphi Theatre, was not a good test for the telecasting of a Broadway production. They contended that ANTA is hardly known to the public and that the show is not a property lending itself to wide public appeal and exploitation. However, a few circuit officials said that a number of lessons could be learned, maintaining that a variety show, extensive in long shots, is poor theatre telecast fare. Dramatic scenes and musical scenes, featuring close-ups and semi-close-ups, were said on the other hand to "pack a wallop." One circuit executive expressed his firm conviction that a legitimate stage show, with the proper cast and proper entertainment ingredients, could not miss as a theatre telecast. Poor in Chicago, Boston Reports from various sections of the country indicated that most of the theatres were at best half-full for the ANTA telecast. As far as attendance, the poorest showing appeared to be in Chicago and Boston, where only 300 and 900, respectively, attended Chicago's 4,400-seat Uptown Theatre, and Boston's Loew's State Theatre. Officials of ANTA or CARE, the two organizations which jointly sponsored the benefit event, could not be reached for comment yesterday. The pre-opening take in contributions to CARE was estimated to be about $135,000 on the basis of incomplete reports, with a $200,000 figure cited as a break-even point. Strike Threatens Para. Home Office Motion Picture Home Office Employees Union, Local H-63, IATSE, which represents some 225 "white collar" workers at Paramount, will call a strike at the company's home office here unless Federal mediator Mandelbaum can effect a reconciliation in the contract negotiations, Russel M. Moss, executive vicepresident of H-63, declared yesterday. Moss said that H-63 is seeking a 15 per cent boost in wages, improved working hours and vacations, but Paramount has declined to meet the proposals. "The Federal Mediator has asked for one more meeting between both sides before any strike action is taken by us," the H-63 official stated. Cosgrove, Critic, Dead BALTIMORE, March 29.— Funeral services are to be held tomorrow for John 'Jack' Cosgrove, assistant motion picture critic of the Baltimore News-Post. He had been with paper more than 30 years. He also wrote a column known as "Curtain Call." He died Sunday at Union Memorial Hospital following a brief illness. Byrd Defers Action On Tax Legislation Pr THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, March 29. — Senate Finance Committee chairman Byrd (D., Va.) postponed until mid-April, after the Congressional Easter recess, any committee action on the House-approved legislation to repeal two important sections of the 1954 tax law. The sections deal with expense reserve funds and prepaid income. Byrd had originally planned to have the committee vote on the provisions this week. Industry Officials to Set UJA Drive Plans Key leaders of the amusement industry will meet today in the offices of Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures, to discuss the 1955 drive in behalf of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York. Adolph Schimel, vice-president and general counsel of Universal Pictures, who chaired the industry's drive for the United Jewish Appeal, will preside over the luncheon meeting. Yehuda Hellman, noted Israeli journalist, recently returned from Israel, will address the meeting and discuss the urgent requirements of the 1955 campaign. Among those expected to attend the meeting are Balaban, Charles Boasberg, Harry Brandt, William B. Brenner, Jack Cohn, Abe Dickstein, Ed Fabian, Leopold Friedman, Manny Frisch, William M. German, Harry Goldberg, Leon Goldberg, Irving Greenfield, Jacques Grinieff, Leonard Gruenberg, Arthur Israel, Jr., Malcolm Kingsberg, Harold J. Klein, Nat Lefkowitz, Milton Livingston, and Harry Mandel. Also, Tom Murtha, Solly Pernick, Martin Quigley, Samuel Rinzler, Harold Robbins, Herman Robbins, J. Robert Rubin, Arthur Rosen, Samuel Rosen, Mr. Schimel, Abe Schneider, Samuel Schneider, Fred J. Schwartz, Sol A. Schwartz, Spyros P. Skouras, Spyros Skouras, Jr., Morton Sunshine, Milton Weintraub, and Robert N. Weitman. Columbia, Spiegel In 3-Picture Deal Columbia Pictures announced yesterday that it had concluded a threepicture deal with Sam Spiegel, producer of "On the Waterfront." The pictures to be produced in the new deal are now under discussion between Spiegel and Columbia. The first production is expected to go before the cameras in the early Fall. George Tetrault Dies ALBANY, March 29.— A Requiem Mass was celebrated in St. Parick's Church, Watervliet, yesterday, for George I. Tetrault, former operator of the Grand Theatre in that city. He died at Troy. Military Plan (Continued from page 1) of some 95 to 100 competing military theatres, instead of behind these military theatres as at present. A letter outlining the agreement was submitted to the Pentagon for final clearance. Army, Navy and Air Force officials, however, objected to the agreement worked out with Swan. They said that under Congressional pressure they had already curtailed operations of post exchanges and cut back on liquor sales on military posts, and that the film industry plan went too far in taking away advantages now held by the armed services. Various compromises were discussed at the Pentagon meeting, it was learned. One would alternate first film showings in the area between, military and private theatres. Another would provide for simultaneous showing of new films. So far, however, the military service spokesmen have stood fast for their present set-up. Feel New Plan Is Needed Participants in the meeting said the military officials said they recognized the theatres' problem, and the industry officials said they recognized the military problem. The official announcement of the conclusion of the meeting said the Defense Department had taken no stand but would communicate with the industry later. Industry officials said today, however, they had the very definite feeling that it's now up to the industry to come forward with a new plan, or the status quo will be kept. Broidy Cites Benefit Of 'Living Together' From THE DAILY Bureau CHICAGO, March 29. — Steve Broidy, president of Allied Artists, on the homeward lap of his nationwide tour, today told Chicago exhibitors "living together takes more strength than fighting each other. Please don't try to legislate yourselves into success, or we'll all have a rude awakening before we're through." Broidy's plea for top playing time was favorably received by 125 exhibitors representing 475 theatres. John Balaban and Dave Wallerstein, of B&K, and Jack Kirsch, president of Illinois Allied, attended. 'SHOWPLACE OF THE EAST" FOR YOUR SCREENINGS Cl nemaScop£ • Three Channel interlock projection I • 16, 171/2 & 35mm tape interlock • 16mm interlock projection j CUTTING & EDITING ROOMS AVAILABLE] movielab THEATRE SERVICE, inc. 619 West 54th Street, • New York 19, N. Y. JUdson 6-0367 MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor. Published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone* Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." Martin Quigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Levy, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; Al Steen, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager; Hollywood Bureau, YuccaVine Building, Samuel D. Berns, Manager; William R. Weaver, Editor, Hollywood 7-2145; Chicago Bureau, 120 South LaSalle Street, Urben Farley, Advertising Representative, FI 6-3074. Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C. London Bureau, 4 Golden Sq., London W. 1; Hope Burnup, Manager, Peter Burnup, Editor; cable address, "Quigpubco, London." Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald; Better Theatres and Better Refreshment Merchandising, each published 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Motion Picture and Television Almanac; Fame. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 21, 1938, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign; single ■copies, 10c.